We recently wrote a post where doctors and nurses revealed the health “lies” people should stop believing. In the comments, even more medical experts debunked health myths and misconceptions, and it’s a serious eye-opener. Here’s what they had to say:
Note: Some answers were pulled from this Reddit thread by Kerouac__.
1.“No, you will be driving an ambulance instead of your private vehicle to the ER no heal faster. Patients are triaged according to the severity of their condition, so if you injure your knee you may have to wait because someone else is bleeding or having a heart attack.”
—modernmule195
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2.“OB/GYN here: Using hormonal birth control doesn’t make you infertile. Untreated chlamydia can.”
—evilchef76
3.“As an OR nurse, CLEAN THE PUMP BEFORE SURGERY!!! After you are asleep, we expose and clean a large area of skin which usually includes the belly button (even if it is not the area you are having surgery on) because if the drapes tear or have a hole, the skin around the incision areas would still be cleaner than I prepared. The patients I’ve cared for have gold mines of god knows what shocking life in their deep, deep navels.”
“We have to clean it all up before we go on, and we all gag when we do. It’s wild. If you need a hip replacement, gallbladder removal, hernia repair, or any number of other surgeries, we’ll see your belly button, look inside, clean it out, and you’ll never know the difference. CLEAN. YOUR. BELLY. BUTTON.”
—in/pamelabeezlyhalpert
4.“You can’t detox your liver, and some of the things that are recommended actually do more damage to your liver. Seriously, it’s true. But there’s always someone who thinks they can improve their liver. No.”
—kestrel
Ljubaphoto / Getty Images
5.“I’m a doctor. I’ve had a lot of training, but I haven’t had training in all areas. You probably don’t want me managing a complicated pregnancy or doing surgery. We may not know the answer to your concern, but a good provider is a good listener and can try to get you to someone who can help you.”
—bingowashisnameo
6.“Doctors almost never tell a patient that they only have three months to live. I’ve had many patients complain of a similar complaint, but every doctor I’ve ever asked says they never tell a patient that. I can say that usually someone with that diagnosis it doesn’t say ‘don’t live beyond x–y months or years, but we don’t know how much time any person has left.’
—mushycrocodile77
7.“One thing that annoys me is that CPR is not meant to restart your heart! Its purpose is to keep blood flowing through the body until the person receives actual medical care. So many TV shows and movies show people doing CPR in minutes, and then they give up – OR do the weakest compressions known to man, and the person wakes up. It’s so wrong!”
“Compressions must be done continuously and also be strong enough to potentially break the ribs.”
—mellowsquid
Kmatta / Getty Images
8.“When we tell you that you have precancerous changes on your cervix, it means that if you don’t treat it or monitor it carefully, there is a chance that it will eventually develop into cancer. It is NOT cancer – 90+ percent of patients who tell me they have cervical cancer wombs are not.”
“I routinely told my patients at least five times when I told them they had precancerous changes that it was NOT cervical cancer, I even stepped it up at follow-up visits, I did call the family of one patient because she told her family she had three months to live and was sharing all her possessions because we told her she was dying of cervical cancer and only had three months to live.”
—mushycrocodile77
9.“Pharmacy technology here. The amount of people who don’t consider vitamins, supplements or even over-the-counter products ‘medicine’ is staggering. You ask what else they take and they say ‘nothing’ but then it turns out they didn’t report Tylenol, colloidal silver and vitamins. And if your meds are ‘not working’, not only should you not stop them, but don’t put other meds on top!”
— daughter
10.“That, me, as a nurse, just trying to milk your insurance. Most of the time I don’t even know if you have any insurance, if you’re documented or undocumented, or if it has to do with billing and medical benefits. If I have valid orders from the doctor to do something to find out what’s wrong with you or to help you feel better, I implement them.”
“I’m not running to check if the hospital will get compensation. I literally don’t care. I just want to help you get better and get out so we can help the next person get better and get out too.“
-jugular vein
Sdi Productions / Getty Images
11.“We don’t care what your donor status is!!! If you’re in a serious accident, we don’t stop your treatment because you’re a donor. The whole donor situation is so complicated that it wouldn’t work even if we were, please be a donor!”
—in/JustGenericName
12.“As a clinician, you don’t know what I do because you have Google. Show some self-respect and trust the experts; we have many years of training, advanced practicum after school, not to mention thousands of people we have seen.”
—heinzybaby
13.“You can’t just take the IV out and walk away like nothing happened. You’re going to bleed everywhere, never mind get through all the layers of tape and Tegaderm holding it in place.”
“Some people are quick to clot; a lot of people don’t clot, and if you pull an IV line and just let your arm dangle, it’s going to bleed. Whether a lot or a little depends on the clotting factor. If I don’t apply pressure for a good 10 minutes, I bleed everywhere.”
—rakishrogue
Skaman306 / Getty Images
14.“Myth: Cancer only affects older people. [Testicular cancer is most common in ages 20 to 40]. You should get checked out once a month.”
“Men. Check your testicles to see if you feel a lump, bump, swelling, fullness, or pain. Pretty much anything that feels down there. I have seen too many cases of young men waiting too long with metastatic testicular cancer.“
—you/kneel
15.“Medical assistant for 18 years here. When you come for a new appointment with a new doctor, please do come prepared Bring your medication list, medications you’ve taken before, and allergies. By the way, I don’t know what your little yellow pill is with an X on it. I’m a master’s degree, not a pharmaceutical technician.”
—k4e39fd4aa
16.“I’m BLACK. People think we leave the room after they sleep. No, dog – I’m here all the time!”
“Also, people understand less about anesthesia than about almost any aspect of medicine.”
—Anonymous
And finally…
17.“Myth: For an infection, you can take whatever antibiotics you have lying around. In reality, different types of antibiotics treat different types of infections. Leftover antibiotics you have from a UTI won’t work on a sinus infection. Doctor, and if you have ‘antibiotic backlog’ to begin with, you’re not taking them properly.”
—in/K6983
Chain45154 / Getty Images
Doctors, nurses and other medical professionals, what is a health “lie” or “misconception” that people should stop believing? Tell us in the comments below, or if you want to remain anonymous, feel free to use this Google Form.
Note: Some answers have been edited for length and/or clarity.
